It sounds like a plot ripped straight from Grand Theft Auto V. Police conduct “reverse” sting operations, posing as drug dealers to lure buyers with promises of cheap cocaine. Once the deals go down, cops bust the buyers, and using state and federal forfeiture laws, seize their cash and cars.

For years, police in Sunrise, Fla. have conducted these lucrative reverse stings. Between 2011 and 2012, Sunrise police made over $5.8 million in forfeiture proceeds, according to The Sun-Sentinel, which broke the story. The city now has a whole parking lot packed with seized cars.

Incredibly, cops would usually have at least one kilo of bona fide blow when meeting the buyer. The deals themselves happen at surreally suburban locations, going down at TGI Fridays, Sam’s Club or Panera Bread; Miami Vice this ain’t.

While forfeiture proceeds have been used to buys guns and gear for the Sunrise Police Department, funds have also been funneled towards overtime pay for officers and to pay off confidential informants.

A dozen undercover officers have collectively earned $1.2 million in overtime pay since 2010. One sergeant collected more than $240,000 in overtime during that same period.

As if the millions being made weren’t alarming enough, there are many other reasons Sunrise’s forfeiture program should be concerning. First, many of the buyers are far from drug kingpins. One of the alleged buyers arrested was a man who had been unemployed for more than a year and had filed for bankruptcy earlier that year.

Second, police there aren’t actually taking drugs off the street, unlike regular sting operations. Since many of the buyers do not work for major drug trafficking organizations, seizing their cash is only making them poorer, not crippling drug cartels.

Third, some of the Sunrise cases have been civil forfeiture proceedings. Unlike criminal forfeiture, under civil forfeiture, property owners do not have to be convicted or charged with a crime to permanently lose their property. It’s not limited to Sunrise either.

Finally, Sunrise police have conducted joint missions with the Drug Enforcement Administration, which granted them wider jurisdiction. By teaming up with federal agents, Sunrise police can bypass state laws.

Policing for Profit: The Abuse of Civil Asset Forfeiture

Under federal law, property can be forfeited under a preponderance of the evidence, which is a lower evidentiary standard than the clear and convincing evidence standard under Florida state law. So that makes it easier to seize peoples’ property. Plus, under what’s known as the federal equitable sharing program, local and state law enforcement agencies can receive up to 80 percent of the forfeiture proceeds.

Sunrise police alone spent almost $10 million in equitable sharing funds between 2008 and 2012. That was more than any other municipality in Florida. Of course, Sunrise hasn’t been the only beneficiary. The federal government has doled out almost half a billion dollars in equitable sharing forfeiture funds in 2011.